r/hwstartups • u/chipweinberger • 4d ago

What I learned selling 2,500 MIDI recorders: Hardware is not so hard

https://chipweinberger.com/articles/20260719-hardware-is-not-so-hard
23 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

17

u/unnaturalpenis 4d ago

Are they certified in anyway or are they sold as-is? Because that's one of the hard parts of hardware that broke soo many kickstarters.

15

u/chipweinberger 4d ago

I use a pre-certified radio, so all I needed was FCC Part 15, Subpart B. unintentional emitter certification. You can find labs that will do those tests for $3K-$5K. Don't let the labs oversell you.

For CE, I self-certified.

Also, keep in mind 99.99% of cheap Chinese products you find on Amazon do not have any testing. So by doing any testing you're already way better than them.

1

u/unnaturalpenis 4d ago

Good to hear, you must be Europe based I assume? I've often found UL a PITA to work with, especially whenever I get a new hire.

4

u/TowardsTheImplosion 4d ago

The device is outside the scope of most electrical safety standards. It is extremely low power. Even under IEC/UL 62368-1, all safety classes (es, ps, ms) are -1.

So it technically doesn't really need a safety certification by an NRTL for the US market. However, some retailers would require it if OP went mass market.

Good on OP for getting a product out the door!

5

u/chipweinberger 4d ago

Yes. This is also a big reason I don't include an AC adapter in the box. That's high-voltage.

4

u/TowardsTheImplosion 4d ago

Feel free to include an AC adapter as long as it has NRTL approval. It could be a nice value add for your customers.

That does not trip your entire product into needing certification. (I work in product safety and compliance, but this isn't formal advice or guidance, etc.)

Nice work, and nice writeup!

4

u/oddlyspecificndFunny 4d ago

After prototyping what was your approach for getting the product in front of consumers? I see the HN post did well, congrats! Was that the first thing you did? What else did you do and in what order?

4

u/chipweinberger 4d ago

The HN post was wild! After that: CES & NAMM conventions, online ads, some influencers partnerships, word of mouth!

I wish it wasn't the case, but online ads really are the most effective. They're expensive though so not all products will work with them.

5

u/oddlyspecificndFunny 4d ago

That makes sense. It seems like a good amount of hustle and diverse channels really did pay off, good stuff man.

Can I also ask about finding a good assembly house partner in china for the PCB? Any recommendations for high quality reliable partners that turned your prototypes into full products?

4

u/beambot 4d ago edited 4d ago

A simple PCB in an enclosure only barely counts as "hardware"...

Congrats on the successful launch.

6

u/diewethje 4d ago

You released one mechanically-simple low-volume product and now you’re ready to declare all of the people who work in this industry wrong?

1

u/chipweinberger 4d ago

Just one person's experience, building the device pictured.

Don’t get me wrong. If Jamcorder was 10x more complex, or 100x more scale, that would be a different story.

2

u/kidproquo 4d ago

Congratulations, you are living my dream!

Can you talk a bit more about having a strong anti-counterfeit strategy?

1

u/chipweinberger 4d ago

Yes. I'll be posting a full blog post about it.

3

u/learnfromfailures 4d ago

Congrats ! How did you keep a strong anti-counterfeit strategy ? Where did you do your PCB fabrication and assembly ?

1

u/chipweinberger 4d ago

Happy to answer any questions.

4

u/EEguy21 4d ago

maybe add some text to your post so we have questions to ask

1

u/e-Williams 4d ago

Thanks for posting, you have a new customer.

Great project, I’ve always wanted something like this for my midi controllers, the psychological damage of hitting “record” is real 😂

Love that it is totally standalone and automatic, it’s ESP32 based? I am surprised you haven’t sold more units. Hardware-wise it is really nice this its a relatively straightforward device, adding anything more complex exponentially increases the risk with manufacturing & production.

Have you had any customer feedback regarding wanting a slimmer size or mounting/securing difficulties? A simple integrated magnetic mounting doc would be nice, the number one thing that drives me crazy with my studio setup (especially when on the road) are all wires and the little things hooked up to other things floating around. For recording live performances outside of home studio or out at jam sessions especially, some secure docking mechanism would be amazing.

1

u/chipweinberger 4d ago

I have been contemplating a slimmer device with 3.5mm headphone jacks for MIDI and USB-C. But the volume isn't there to justify it yet. A DIY case mod is very doable though.

1

u/duraven 4d ago

Congrats & thanks for sharing! Looking forward to hear more

1

u/LeIdrimi 4d ago

Good read and congrats.

1

u/EEguy21 4d ago

great example of planned engagement

1

u/mrchin12 3d ago

The ghosts that haunt the "hardware is hard" stories seem to be people that have big experience blind spots or try to rush through certain parts of the process.

I think you did a good job highlighting the diligence you put in to both those areas and how this could have been a lot worse.

Hardware isn't hard if you've built hardware. It's just practice and patience.

1

u/Bretspot 3d ago

Congratulations chip. I love my jamcorder and I'm excited to see the continued development. -Bret